School districts across the state have designated magnet programs, but New London has a magnet-wide school district. It provides unique academic opportunities.

NEW LONDON, Conn. —

It’s been a while since New London Public Schools became Connecticut’s first completely magnet school district.

However, Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie says they’re still not fully magnetized, with a new program still to be completed. The process has been long and not always the smoothest, but it’s always been rewarding. 

“We are at a super proud moment right now. It’s like a rebirth of a school district,” said Ritchie.  

Ritchie has been superintendent of New London Public Schools for eight years. She says the process of transforming the district into an all-magnet school wasn’t always easy. 

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“When I first came in, there was a magnet plan that included five different pathways, five different schools under one school, and there was some confusion and not a set direction for how it was going to look,” said Ritchie. “We set a new vision to be united in excellence and thinking about all the assets around us.” 

Instead of five different pathways, the district leaders narrowed them down to three: The STEM, ARTS, and International Education pathways. 

The STEM pathway is what started it all, celebrating its 20th year anniversary this year, and Janet Farquhar remembers when it just got off the ground.

“At that point, we didn’t have results to share,” said Farquhar. “It was word of mouth and staff talking about the programs we had. As students came, the success that they had was just amazing. We had students that were going on to become doctors and nurses and engineers with jobs in the government that they couldn’t even say what they did because it was too secret.” 

As the success story spread across the state, students and families felt encouraged to apply to New London Magnet Schools. One of them was Jacoby Lefleur and his mother Meagan. 

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“My favorite part about this school is that I can use my ambition to go for any program I want,” said Jacoby. “This school has so many opportunities. I’m a representative for student government, I’m in robotics, and of course, baseball has always been there. I really give my time to all the clubs.” 

“There was definitely more opportunities than the school where we lived,” said Meagan. “I’m a big believer in school choice. Students should be able to go with what best fits them. As an adult, we get to pick where we want to work, and kids should have the same experience.” 

An opportunity Jacoby is taking advantage of is JROTC. It’s helped him and his peers like Mez Boyd gain valuable life skills they may not have gotten. 

“I joined originally because I just wanted something else to put on my college application,” said Boyd. “Over the years, I’ve gotten more into it. It’s really helped me grow into a more disciplined person and develop leadership skills.” 

JROTC instructor and 30-year Navy veteran Carl Matteucci says they’ve been able to teach the students about hard work and accountability. 

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“You give the cadets all these opportunities, and they start to see this is a really good thing,” said Matteucci. “They get community service hours like helping the food bank, and they start to see through hard work, determination and motivation they can conquer anything.” 

As the magnet program expands, the district hopes to continue providing remarkable learning opportunities to strengthen the school to career pipeline. 

“We have really great students, great staff and great programs,” said Meagan. “Us making this choice I don’t look at it as a negative, I think it’s 100% a positive and would recommend it to every single person I know.” 

The district is still taking applications for the upcoming school year. Oct. 1 is when applications will open for the 2026 school year for sixth through 12th grades, and elementary applications open Nov. 1. 

For more information on how to register your student, head to New London Public Schools website here. 

Jamel Johnson is a Multi-Skilled Journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jjohnson@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

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